The holidays are almost upon us and I have been searching for new activities for the kids. So when I came across the BASF series of science workshops, I knew that they would be ideal for my boys and I was delighted when I received a media invite to check out the science workshop.

The workshop is in it's 11th year running and they take place all over the world. This year, the experiments were focused on water purification and analysing how super absorbents work.

The workshops are run under the watchful eye of the friendly facilitators who did a superb job in engaging the kids and assisting them. They really made the whole scientific experience such a joy that I won't be surprised if I end up with a scientist in the family.

You might be curious about what the kids got up to...

Well, in the first water purification experiment, the kids added sand, wooden sticks and a drop of dye to some water and then used a sieve and charcoal to remove the impurities.

In the second experiment, the kids were asked to analyse the effect of super absorbents in sand and how super absorbent polymers had the ability to absorb water in large amounts. They were given the opportunity to slowly add water to the super absorbents and observe it turn into a gel-like texture. They loved this!

The facilitators also explained how super absorbents are used in golf courses to help the grass retain water and hence reduce the need for watering. Finally, there was an experiment that involved a diaper that drew lots of 'eewwws' from the crowd but the kids were reasonably enthralled and asked if they could buy a diaper to experiment on at home.

But what I really loved was that after each experiment, the kids were asked to observe the results and draw their observations in the blank journals that they were given. The kids really enjoyed the whole process of discovery and being able to experiment freely with the chemicals.

In all, we had a really good time. The kids were raving about the experience as we drove home and that couldn't have made me happier. Thanks BASF for the enriching and fun time! I can't wait to see what you come up with next year.

* From 31 May - 7 June 2014, the BASF Kids' Lab workshops will be run at Jurong Regional Library. The workshops are really popular and all places have been snapped up but if you would like to be notified of their future workshops, you can find more information at their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BASF.KidsLabAPAC

There is something nostalgic about playing old childhood games. On National Day, the husband and I visited Old School Delights and really enjoyed a walk down memory lane with the kids. The unique feature about this restaurant is that every table has a little box filled with games that we used to play with. They also sell the familiar childhood games that we used to play.

So we had heaps of fun playing five stones, happy family and even stamp erasers. My son definitely relished explaining to me how it works. Interestingly, I found out that the husband apparently played five stones too as a child! Who knew? :)

Well, with national day just past, I decided to make a set of washi tape pick up sticks. After all, after the MT washi tape expo, I had lots of new rolls of MT washi tape to play with.

It took me a little while to decorate the skewers but it was fun. This DIY idea really allows you to mix and match your washi tapes so get creative and make all sorts of different patterns.

You can really do this in anyway that you like but here are the steps to the simplest way to wrapping a skewer.

MATERIALS:- a pair of scissors - skewers - washi tape

STEPS:1. stick the skewer to the washi tape 2. snip off the end of the washi tape 3. gently roll the washi tape around the skewer 4. snip off the sharp end of the skewer

Repeat and make at least 15-20 sticks.

There you have it! A pretty set of washi tape pick up sticks that begs to be played.

I remember having heaps of fun playing pick up sticks with my sister and guess what, it is a great exercise for increasing hand agility. So do make yourself a set and have some old school fun!

UPDATED : I first made these hangers for my primary school going child but these hangers would make a fun baby shower activity or a nice gift for a wedding couple or a friend.

Are you a morning person? I am not.

On school days, I wake my son up at 6am. I lay out his uniform. I try very hard to remember if it is a PE day.

At 6am, this can be a difficult task. And I confess, that I um, have gotten the days wrong more than once.This has meant that he has had to do PE in his school shirt. Not the end of the world but it really makes me feel like an awful mum that hasn't gotten my act together.

So I recently came up with a solution that pleases my eye. Of course, a post-it reminder would have easily solved the problem but I felt a longing for something a little more permanent.

So I created weekday hangers. I simply stuck washi tape on the days that he has PE.

(The washi tape can be removed next year and I can stick new washi tape on the days that he has PE next year)

Now on Sunday nights, I layout the shirts accordingly after ironing them and then I can forget all about uniforms until the next Sunday comes round. And now I bet I have freed up a little brain space for other bits of random information to be stored too. Which as a mum is incredibly valuable because I find that I have so much less brain space now cos I find myself having to think for me and my kids all the time.

It seems like the birthday season has hit us. We were at two parties last week and are about to head to another this morning. Here's a simple activity that kids can get busy with everytime a birthday comes round. I think it gives them a chance to express a little creativity, use a new craft material like washi tape (which always inspires new ideas) and help them to grow in confidence.

I gave them a card and asked them to draw something and write a little note then, I gave them the present and asked them to decorate it. It was their first time but I hope to give them more free reign so they can really express their creativity in this area.

1. I think a blank canvas is the best way to encourage them so wrap the present in brown paper or white mahjong paper.

Don't worry about the end result. After all, the gift wrap will only sit on the present for a short while and be no more. Your child and his friend will love it regardless. So it really makes a great canvas for kids to practice their creative skills.

p/s Friday's post on creativity is a little late this week but I hope to get to it soon.

Today's Valentine's Day idea is a whole lot less girly but a lot of fun. The idea is basically to transform a ziploc bag by tracing an illustration on it. Choose something that will definitely put a smile on the receipient's face!

My sons are really into ninjago at the moment so I used one of their books and traced two characters on it. I am thinking of adding speech bubbles too. I think they will like it. You could also save this idea for their birthday or the day of their exam. Just a simple way to show support and love in an inexpensive way.

Directions :1. Place the ziploc bag over the image and trace the outline with the permanent marker2. Colour the images3. Fill the ziploc bag with a snack then place it in your child's bag ready for school

Have fun spreading some love this Valentine's Day!

Here is another illustration that I did on Valentine's Day with the kids. Try it and do take a photo if you do. I would love to see it.

p.s If you are new to my blog from Design Mom and visiting for the first time, a big welcome to you! do check out my about page or bookmark my site and come back and check out my other DIY tutorials some other time. I promise you there is a lot of fresh crafty goodness there.

p.p.s If you are planning to try this tutorial and need to get materials, you might want to read where to find Sharpies in Singapore.

I love Christmas Crackers but have you noticed how expensive they sometimes are. Not to mention that they come with little nick nacks that are well, sometimes a bit of a disappointment. I like the idea of personalising Christmas crackers and being able to fill them with anything I like. Well, you can find lots of DIY tutorials on the web that show you how to make a real Christmas Cracker. But the only problem is that you need cracker snaps.

So I tried to think of an idea that one, would not require cracker snaps and secondly, would also result in a resounding pop! So here it is, fashioned from a wet umbrella bag. You know, the ones outside malls, that you use to store your wet umbrella in when it rains. Grab a couple next time, you never know when you might want to make a Christmas Cracker :)

Materials :

- plastic bag for wet umbrellas

- pom poms

- curling ribbon

- washi tape

- scissors

- crepe paper hat

Directions:

1. Trim off one end of the plastic bag

2. Tie a dead knot at one end

3. Put in the pom poms and the nick nacks

4. Blow air into the bag and twist the end tightly

5. Tie another dead knot

6. Cut off the excess plastic

7. Tie ribbons on both ends of the Christmas Cracker and curl them

8. Decorate the body of the Cracker with washi tape

To pop the cracker, step on one end and jump on the middle to make it pop! Kids will love this and seriously, I would too :)

I didn't have time to add lots of fun nick nacks for this tutorial but I think you could put in a balloon or a little joke or note too, just to make it more fun.

I hope you have a ton of fun with this as you make someone smile this Christmas. If you liked this DIY idea, you might enjoy other ideas in the series, handmade holiday ideas.

* This post was first shared at The Playful Parents as part of a series called Love Gifts.

by H. A. Rey (author of Curious George) very simple to understand and engaging. Glow in the Dark Constellations was also a good read and introduced a number of constellations too. But if you are only going to get one book, get Find the Constellations. The plan was to read a few pages of the book each day and we would recreate his own book of constellations.

Each day, my son would trace the stars with a marker on to tracing paper and then I would help him punch out the holes using the

. Then we stuck gold paper behind it. He also joined the stars together to form the constellation (drawn on tracing paper) and we stuck that behind the first page with the holes. We had a lot of fun doing this together and soon he could recognise quite a number of constellations.

On the

second day, we also made torchlight constellation filters and my younger son got to play along too. (We reused the torchlights that were given to us at the National Day Parade!)

which is open every friday night. As it is the school holidays at the moment, there are secondary students manning booths with star-themed games and we decided to play with one of their games. It involved using pegs and tubes and buckets to create a track for a marble to roll on. There was also a light craft and a photo magic booth.

It was drizzling when we arrived and so we decided to watch the planterium show where we crawled into a dark tentage and a projector simulated the night sky and the universe for us. We lay down and visited different planets just from where we were.

and saw the moon through the clouds. We didn't get to spot any constellations but the kids were excited to get the chance to look through the gigantic telescope. Apparently there are just three in Singapore. One owned by a university and another by a private owner, I wonder who? I also decided to treat the kids to some astronaut ice cream which really tasted just like candy. They enjoyed it the same.

My kids normally are in bed before 8pm and so when I told them that we were going on an outing to the observatory, they were over the moon. We reached home at 1030pm and both were really tired but extremely happy. In fact, my older son actually exclaimed on the way home in the car that it was the most fun that he had ever had in his life.

Have you seen the glee on a child's face when they play with bubbles? Well, try making these gigantic bubbles and you just might experience that joy afresh.

I made these last year for my son's Birthday party and I let some of the kids come up to the front to test out the bubble solution. It was a pretty cool activity that the kids really enjoyed. I guess it isn't everyday that you get to make giant bubbles.

Well, it's the school holidays and if you are looking for something fun to do with your kids, you might want to try this.

I tried the recipes online but they didn't work for me. I suspect that it has to do with the humidity. Somehow they kept bursting. In the end, I tried using Dawn and also more glycerin and a shallow tray. I am sure there is another combination that might work but this worked for me.

1. Mix the detergent and water gently together without creating bubbles in the solution.

2. Mix the glycerine into the soapy solution, again taking care not to create bubbles.

3. Leave it overnight and try not to create any bubbles on the surface as they will make it harder for giant bubbles to form.

Notes:

- I tried making up a batch using a different detergent but my bubbles would form and burst almost immediately. Not a whole lot of fun. I found that Dawn detergent did make a difference.

- Many websites will say to leave the container overnight so as to allow the alcohol to evaporate. I did it and it worked.

- Also, do make your bubble solution in advance as it gets better with age. Kinda like wine :)

- I also think the weather affects the solution.

- One last note, you might want to test this out and make sure your bubble solution works before you tell the kids. If you find that the bubbles are still bursting immediately after they are formed, add more glycerin because that is what keeps them whole.

Have a competition and see who can make the biggest bubble. Make sure you have a camera nearby cos you will want a photo of it! Have fun!

If you would like to share a DIY Craft Tutorial on your blog or website, please only use one or two photos and link back to my website for the full tutorial. If you have any questions, you can reach me at mailscissorspaperstone [at] gmail [dot] com. Thank You!